First RSGB ARDF world champion

The Amateur Radio Union of Serbia hosted the 16th IARU World ARDF Championships last weekend and one of the RSGB M70 team gave the Society its first gold medal winner. Bob Titterington, G3ORY won the M70 section in the Second ARDF Classic, run on September 14. He completed the course in 98 minutes 59 seconds, finding all four hidden transmitters on the course and finishing almost a minute in front of second placed DL9MFI. Congratulations to Bob for this well deserved gold medal. The ARDF Committee will have a stand at the RSGB Convention this year and Bob will be giving a talk on the ARDF Championships on Saturday 13 October.

Olympics temporary operating restrictions end tonight

Following the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Ofcom temporary operating restrictions on 70cm and the microwave bands comes to an end at midnight tonight, Sunday 23 September. For those who took part in the Olympics QSO Party, remember that logs should be submitted by 30 September. A talk on the Olympics & Amateur Radio will feature at the RSGB Convention on 13 and 14 October.

RSGB Convention looks to be best ever

Tickets for the RSGB Convention 2012 have been selling very well and the Saturday night dinner is now sold out. Convention packages are still available that include the dinner. Other individual elements including a limited number of rooms, day tickets, Friday dinner etc are still available. The continued success of the RSGB Convention is such that we continue to grow year after year and 2012 looks like being the best yet. If you would like to book a package or other elements of the RSGB Convention 2012 please visit www.rsgbevents.org.

Also in GB2RS this week

The Fife Digital repeater GB7DE is now reconnected to the D-Star network.

The Fife Digital repeater GB7DE is now reconnected to the D-Star network. GB7DE, which operates on the 2m and 70cm bands, has been without an internet connection since December 2010. A new admin team was formed and they have all donated the equipment, materials and time to get this D-Star repeater back onto an internet gateway connection to allow linking to the outside world. The admin team hope that repeater users will continue to support the repeater so that the annual rental and maintenance can continue. Visit the website at www.gb7de.co.uk for details.

Deployment of five CubeSats from the International Space Station

The long awaited deployment of five CubeSats from the International Space Station will take place on Thursday, September 27. Four of the micro sized birds carry amateur radio payloads. These are identified as F-1, FITSAT-1, WE-WISH and TechEdSat. More about this microsat project is online at www.uk.amsat.org/10119.

The Republic of South Sudan has issued its first amateur radio licence

The Republic of South Sudan has issued its first amateur radio licence. The callsign Z81A went to Jim Pratt, who also holds the US callsign K7QI. The second licence was Z81D, issued to Diya Al Sadi, YI1DZ. Both are reportedly now on the air.

Fifth annual Railways on the Air event

This weekend sees the fifth annual Railways on the Air event – a celebration, not a contest. Bishop Auckland RAC organise the weekend so that radio amateurs have a good time and promote amateur radio while helping to celebrate the unique position railways hold in our national heritage. Approximately 30 groups and individuals have registered for the event by approaching a preserved railway, asking if they are celebrating the birth of passenger railways in this country and whether they would like to have an amateur radio station as part of their event to promote awareness of their railway. The list of participating groups can be seen on the web site rota.barac.org.uk. This year both the participating groups and any amateur who contacts 5 or more ROTA special event stations over the weekend will receive a personalised poster recognising their efforts. These can be obtained after the event by submitting logs in pdf format as detailed on the website.

Videos of presentations given to the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium 2012 on Saturday, September 15 are now available online.

Videos of presentations given to the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium 2012 on Saturday, September 15 are now available online. Thanks to the British Amateur Television Club volunteers the presentation are available at www.batc.tv. Click on Film Archive and select AMSAT 2012 in Category box.